Having one’s own garden is a distant dream for city dwellers of India. The acute space crunch followed by the lack of sunshine and time to tend to plants often takes a toll on the gardening wish list of home owners. However, here are a few tips that will allow owners of buy flats in Navi Mumbai or any other urban metropolitan area to have their own garden at home. It may not be like one that used to be there in your grandma’s backyard-but it will be your spot of cosiness nevertheless!

Select plants which do not take much space to grow

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Growing roses in a studio apartment is out of the question, hence you need to settle for small shrubs which look pretty yet take up little space to grow. There are quite a few plants that can be tried out for properties in Navi Mumbai such as daylilies, oleander, marigolds, Plumeria and periwinkle even if you can keep it trimmed. If you are inclined to create a vegetable garden, then you can choose lemons, tomatoes, chillies, ajwain and cucumbers. These plants do not take much space to grow and require little to no maintenance almost.

Economising on the space allotted to plants

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Because your garden is most likely to be in your balcony, terrace or window-sill, you need to decide upon the kinds of pots and bases you will use on your Navi Mumbai property. For instance, you can plant flowering shrubs in a window-box which can be filled with mud. The plants can be placed equidistant from one another. You can also choose terracotta or plastic pots with perforations at the bottom for draining excess water.

Tending to plants for vertical growth

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Certain plants such as sunflowers tend to grow vertically which will considerably take care of the absence of horizontal space in your home. You can also keep pruning the plants so that they grow vertically rather than horizontally.

Be creative with designing your garden

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What lacks in variety can be made up with innovation in flower pots. Rather than going for conventional terracotta flower pots of burnt brick colour, you can paint funny pictures or bright patterns on them to make them look attractive. Opt for contrasting colours so that the colour of the pots, don’t clash with that of the flowers. You can also cut a plastic bottle into half and wrap it with colourful cloths and then use it for placing plants. Make sure you pierce two holes for draining the excess water.

Use simple mulch for tending to your plants

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You need not buy expensive chemical fertilizers for keeping your plants lush and green. You can add used tea leaves or manure to the base of these plants to make them grow well. Dig up soil a little to aerate it for the roots.

New projects in Navi Mumbai often have terrace gardens where you can grow Bonsai and other ornamental plants. If yours is not one of them, you can always try these techniques out to simulate the experience of gardening.